Hello all. So i'm trying to do a repair install but i have a few issues which hopefully you can help with.

First problem: I can't just boot from a XP cd because my cd drive won't burn cd's any more and it won't even read most cd's any more. That leads to problem two: I'd boot from the ISO image using Grub4Dos loading it into ram but i've only got 702MB of ram and i'm not sure if it will work properly.

Hello all. So i'm trying to do a repair install but i have a few issues which hopefully you can help with.

First problem: I can't just boot from a XP cd because my cd drive won't burn cd's any more and it won't even read most cd's any more. That leads to problem two: I'd boot from the ISO image using Grub4Dos loading it into ram but i've only got 702MB of ram and i'm not sure if it will work properly.

So if anyone could help or give me some advice that would be great.

It won't work anyway.

Check whether the repair option is available on a WinsetupfronUSB prepared stick:http://www.msfn.org/...omusb-with-gui/If there isn't one in a stick made with the 1.0 beta 7 version try the older method 0.2.3.

IF it was as simple as mapping the .iso in grub4dos, do you really think that all those peeps would have taken that amount of time to deliver solution(s) to the problem?Or do you assume that they all were doing something UNneeded?

Now, let's analize your original post.You have a problem.You think you know how to solve it.BUT instead of trying it directly, you ask about it.WHY? I mean, did you have your "common sense" tingling?Or you really assumed that it could have worked like magic was it not for the amount of RAM?

Well i saw that it was possible to load the XP iso into ram using FiraDisk and grub4dos here soon after i joined and before i saw the it was possible to do it straight off a USB stick. I'm certainly not saying any of them did anything Unneeded.

The reason i didn't just try it is because i wasn't sure if i had enough RAM and i didn't won't to go ahead and try it and then it not having enough RAM and screwing something up. Because i have a habit of going into something without all the facts and screwing it up. Then having even more to fix so yes i'm am a bit overcautious about these thing now.

Now i tried WinsetupfromUSB and It booted fine but i couldn't see a repair option. So now i'm wondering is my XP iso even capable of doing a repair install or am i missing something? I made this iso using the instructions here:

oh right i didn't know it was under the "To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER." option. I thought that was just to do a clean install of it. Well i'll have a look to see if it is there or not and let you know.

oh right i didn't know it was under the "To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER." option. I thought that was just to do a clean install of it.

Yep, that single thing tricked probably more people than stars in the sky, you might appreciate how it is bolded redand how many times it is repeated on the mentioned site.

Remember to ALSO read this:http://cquirke.blogs...ir-install.htmlwhen actually doing the repair install, be particularly aware of the "Duplicate user accounts" issue, a good idea is to create a temporary "MickeyMouse" dummy account, leaving any existing one in the previous install alone. (this is probably the second most fallen into trick the devil MS pulls)

Ok thanks. I was thinking about all of this and i thought that maybe if i could put the updates that you get for XP in the cd then it would save time and effort. Now i know that you can use Nlite to slipstream them in to the cd but i'm not 100% sure where and how would be the best place to get them. Perhaps you could point me in the right direction?

Ok thanks. I was thinking about all of this and i thought that maybe if i could put the updates that you get for XP in the cd then it would save time and effort. Now i know that you can use Nlite to slipstream them in to the cd but i'm not 100% sure where and how would be the best place to get them. Perhaps you could point me in the right direction?

Well, NO. If you are doing a Repair Install, it means that you are having a problem and you expect to solve this problem this way.If this is the case, you should do a Repair Install ONLY.You should have the SAME SP level as the "botched" install and possibly "nothing else".That is unless (like you seem like NOT having) you originally installed that system from a source already updated with a zillion of updates/KB integrated. (then it would be allright to repair using the same source you used to install).

Otherwise, by integrating "random" updates you provide for an additional layer of complexity and hence greater probability of problems.

The idea of a "Repair Install" is to repair something that went beserk, doing a "Repair and upgrade install" may be a way to save some time, but it may as well be something that will make the already botched install not working and UNrepairable.

So, you can integrate the updates to the source, whether it is a smart idea or not, is debatable, in any case you should be aware how YMMV:

Ok then didn't think about that. I'll do the repair install with the cd image i already have without the updates. Still it would be useful to have a cd image with all the updates intergrated in it. In case i need to do a clean install at any point. So could you point me in the right direction please?

Sure, the estimation I produced was done based on a concept established LONG BEFORE November 2010:http://bible.cc/psalms/147-4.htmthe nice mentioned study more or less says "we are so bad at counting big numbers that till now, after centuries of peeps wasting good hours of sleep to watch the sky we found out that we mistakenly estimated 2/3 of reality (and this in itself is an estimated value)". However, I'll gladly to rephrase to:

Yep, that single thing tricked probably more people than visible (with the naked eye) stars in the sky, ...

Well as i feared i've scewed it up. I went to the set up windows option but it didn't come up with any other menus. It just copied some files over to the hard drive did a few other thing and the robooted the computer. So i started up my computer and my grub menu wasn't there, it just booted XP. I put XP into hibernate again and then when the computer started i got a multi-coloured screen with flashing numbers on it.

So now my computer will not boot at all so i tried LiveXP but that didn't boot, i tried a Linux live cd (slitaz) and that worked but when i started gparted i said my hard drive was unpartitioned space. This is why i am so overcautious. So please help me.

I went to the set up windows option but it didn't come up with any other menus. It just copied some files over to the hard drive did a few other thing and the robooted the computer. So i started up my computer and my grub menu wasn't there, it just booted XP.

Sure, this is normal, you just did a repair install, remember?

I put XP into hibernate again and then when the computer started i got a multi-coloured screen with flashing numbers on it.

WHY (the HECK) did you put in "hybernate"? WHY "again"?

So now my computer will not boot at all so i tried LiveXP but that didn't boot, i tried a Linux live cd (slitaz) and that worked but when i started gparted i said my hard drive was unpartitioned space.

"didn't boot" is not a description for what happened with LiveXP.

This is why i am so overcautious.

Overcautious is another thing, an overcautious peep might have come here asking for help to resolve the issue he/she was having, instead of asking how to do a "Repair Install".You seemingly slipped on a chocolate covered banana:

So please help me.

I don't see an actual cause-effect relationship between your being overcautious and the need to help you. But don't worry, we will help you no matter if you are overcautious or not.

When i boot it up it goes to a screen with a multi coloured checker pattern and falshing numbers and letters. As i said the XP cd did what i said then i rebooted my computer. XP was already hibernated when i turned it on for the first time and it came on so i put it back into hibernation and rebooted to see if i could get Ubuntu to boot. thats when it stopped booting. With LiveXP it will get to the first boot menu but then when it says booting LiveXP on the black screen it just stays there. This image i've used before and it worked in the past.

I've tried with only one stick of ram in but that didn't work. I started testdisk and it found the partitions so now gparted will see the partitions but it says it cannot read them and to run chkdsk. So then i started the windows recovery console but it doesn't seem to see the windows installation on the hard disk. Aftewr all f that i'm still stuck with a computer that won't boot.

I started testdisk and it found the partitions so now gparted will see the partitions but it says it cannot read them and to run chkdsk. So then i started the windows recovery console but it doesn't seem to see the windows installation on the hard disk. Aftewr all f that i'm still stuck with a computer that won't boot.

The LiveXP hanging is likely to be a "not enough RAM" issue. WHICH partitons?Are they ACTUALLY the ones(s) you had before?If a filesystem is corrupt, it is possible that RC won't see the revious windows install.Have you ALREADY a backup of the DATA?

Right step right now would be to STOP fiddling until you have made a dd-like or "forensic sound" image of that harddisk.

Yes they are the ones i had before. The recovery partition, the windows one, a fat32 one and the ubuntu one. no i don't have a backup. ok well i'd make a dd image with testdisk but it wants to save it to drive a which is the floppy image which won't have enough space on it. I have a external hard drive which has enough room on it but it doesn't seem to see it. any ideas?

Yes they are the ones i had before. The recovery partition, the windows one, a fat32 one and the ubuntu one. no i don't have a backup. ok well i'd make a dd image with testdisk but it wants to save it to drive a which is the floppy image which won't have enough space on it. I have a external hard drive which has enough room on it but it doesn't seem to see it. any ideas?

Wait a minute.DO NOT do anything you may later regret.The laptop can boot from USB, right?The external hard drive is USB, right?Most probably the partition on it in which you have enough space is NTFS formatted. You simply cannot boot the LiveXP (as said this can be a problem with the amount of memory your particular build of LiveXP or it could be as well a hardware problem of some kind)So, you are running TESTDISK from within some Linux distro.Has this Linux distro you are using read/write capabilities on NTFS volumes? (presuming that the external drive is USB and NTFS formatted)

You see the difference between the level of detail of the info that I am trying to extort from you (and which I actually need in order to understand the issues and hopefully help you) and the ones you are giving: "I have a external hard drive which has enough room on it"

If my guesses are correct you need either a Linux distro with NTFS access or another USB disk drive or another build of LiveXP (or similar PE) that can actually boot that machine.

Yes the external hard drive is usb but it won't boot. it has a NTFS partition that does have enough space. i've been booting off my usb stick.

i'm running testdisk off a dos floppy disk image. need any more info?

You need to run the cloning/imaging app from a OS that can read and write NTFS. (are you sure that TESTDISK can create such image? )Last time I checked:http://www.cgsecurit.../Image_CreationTESTDISK allowed for the creation of partition images (as in NOT disk images, which is what you actually want)You could use dd or ddrescue, what you want is a "whole disk" "as is" or "forensic sound" DISK image.

A good idea is to make the external hard disk bootable and from it boot a distro such as PartedMagic that has TESTDISK (or actually suitable dd program) and that can read/write NTFS.

I'll have enough room on my usb stick. Sorry i thought i could use testdisk but that makes images of partitions not whole hard drives so right ok. So when i boot partedmagic how do i create a image of the whole disk?

I'll have enough room on my usb stick. Sorry i thought i could use testdisk but that makes images of partitions not whole hard drives so right ok. So when i boot partedmagic how do i create a image of the whole disk?

You can use clonezilla (I presume you don't have "bad sectors" on the disk), it is part of parted magic.http://clonezilla.org/or, as said a dd, like dd itself or ddrescue or dc3dd.

Yes the external hard drive is usb but it won't boot. it has a NTFS partition that does have enough space. i've been booting off my usb stick.

Why won't it boot? Is there an error message? Has an external USB drive ever booted on that computer?

There is an experimental version of Syslinux with NTFS support, now. Perhaps if you installed it to this external USB HDD, then it might boot. Syslinux' chain.c32 can then boot NTLDR or BOOTMGR or whatever.